Syed Mir Hassan was an Indian Sunni scholar of the

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...

Hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...

Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

, and the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

language. He was a professor of Arabic at Scotch Mission College in

Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Kas ...

and was awarded the title of ''Shams al-’Ulama’'' ("Sun of the Scholars") by the British Crown. Mir Hassan is best known as the teacher of the philosopher-poet

Muhammad Iqbal Sir Muhammad Iqbal ( ur, ; 9 November 187721 April 1938), was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...

and the poet

Faiz Ahmad Faiz Faiz Ahmad ''Faiz'' (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984; Urdu, Punjabi: فیض احمد فیض) was a Pakistani poet, and author of Urdu and Punjabi literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated Pakistani Urdu writers of his time. Outsi ...

. He was also the paternal uncle of the Pakistani journalist

Syed Nazeer Niazi Syed Nazeer Niazi was an eminent Muslim scholar, professor and journalist. He was one of the leading activists of the Pakistan movement. He was James Boswell of Allama Iqbal. His biography of Iqbal, Iqbal kay Hazoor, and Maktoobat-e-Iqbal Banaam ...

and was affiliated with Sir

Syed Ahmed Khan Sir Syed Ahmad Khan KCSI (17 October 1817 – 27 March 1898; also Sayyid Ahmad Khan) was an Indian Muslim reformer, philosopher, and educationist in nineteenth-century British India. Though initially espousing Hindu-Muslim unity, he ...

's rationalist school of

Islamic modernism Islamic modernism is a movement that has been described as "the first Muslim ideological response to the Western cultural challenge" attempting to reconcile the Islamic faith with modern values such as democracy, civil rights, rationality, ...

Early life

Born on 18 April 1844. Mir Hassan belonged to a religious family of Eastern physicians but did not opt for that profession, and he also refused to take up a career as a traditional prayer leader because he did not want to live on charity. Much to the horror of his family he ended up teaching at a vernacular school run by Christian missionaries. At the age of nineteen he also visited Delhi to meet the famous poet

Mirza Ghalib ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Kala Mahal, Agra, Maratha Confederacy , death_date = , death_place = Gali Qasim Jaan, Ballimaran, Chandni Chowk, Delhi, British India , occupation = Poet , language ...

Syed Mir Hassan and Syed Ahmed Khan

He was a great admirer of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, of whom he became a staunch supporter. He had regular correspondence with him, and had the opportunity to meet him in person on numerous occasions. He was a regular visitor of

All India Muhammadan Educational Conference The All India Muhammadan Educational Conference was an organisation promoting modern, liberal education for the Muslim community in India. It was founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, also the founder of the Aligarh Muslim University. All India M ...

. When Sir Syed Ahmed Khan visited Punjab, Syed Mir Hassan was the first to receive him. He used all his influence to spread

Aligarh movement The Aligarh Movement was the push to establish a modern system of Western–style scientific education for the Muslim population of British India, during the later decades of the 19th century. The movement's name derives from the fact that it ...

in his area.

Syed Mir Hassan and Sir Muhammad Iqbal

He had a great influence on Sir Muhammad Iqbal. Syed Mir Hasan was "an accomplished scholar with a knowledge of several Islamic languages. Mir Hassan gave Sir Muhammad Iqbal a thorough training in the rich Islamic literary tradition and influence him deeply. It is said that once Iqbal picked up Maulvi Mir Hasan’s shoes as a mark of respect."

Title of Shams al-’Ulama’ (“Sun of Scholars”)

In 1922, when the British governor of the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

proposed to the British Crown that Iqbal be knighted in recognition of his literary achievements, Iqbal asked that Mir Hasan should be awarded a title. When the governor remarked that Mir Hassan had not written any books, Iqbal replied that he, Iqbal, was the book Mir Hasan had produced. Mir Hasan received the title of Shams al-’Ulama’ (“Sun of Scholars”).

References

{{Reflist

Sources